Russia

Russia develops 'laser shield' for military optical devices

Russian scientists have developed a special filter that protects sensitive elements of optical devices used in military equipment from destruction by laser beams.

According to Dmitry Chesnokov, a dean of the faculty of nanotechnologies at the Siberian State Geodesic Academy, many countries are developing high-power lasers capable of destroying optical sensors used in various types of weaponry, including night vision devices and optical guidance systems. 24.02.14 More

Russia begins construction of mistral ship base

Russia began construction Tuesday of naval facilities to host Mistral-class helicopter carriers currently being built in France for the Russian navy.

The facilities will be located at an existing naval base on the shore of the Uliss Bay near the Far East city of Vladivostok.

The basic infrastructure will be finished by October 2015, while the base will be ready to host the ships by the beginning of 2018, Rear Admiral Sergei Avakyants, commander of Russia’s Pacific Fleet, told Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during the construction inauguration ceremony. 11.02.14 More

Criminal group suspected of $30M fraud at Russian shipyard

Police in Russia’s Far East said Thursday that they are investigating a group of suspects they believe mounted a $28.7 million fraud scheme while repairing navy warships.

Ilya Shamratov, deputy chief of police in the Primorye region, said investigators have initiated seven criminal cases connected with the Zvezda shipyard.

The head of the military’s Prosecutor Office announced in early November that fraud had been uncovered in the work on navy ships at the yard. 06.02.14 More

Three killed in explosion inside combat vehicle at military range in Khabarovsk

An explosion of ammunition inside a tank occurred on Friday at a combined-arms range at Knyaze-Volkonskoye, Khabarovsk Territory, an official at the Russian Defense Ministry press-service and information department reported.

At present, a commission is at work at the scene under the direction of the Commander of troops of the Eastern Military District to find out the causes and circumstances of the incident. 31.01.14 More

Russia to create cyberwarfare units by 2017

Russia plans to create special cyber-defense units to protect the country against online warfare in the coming years, a senior military commander said Thursday. The units are being formed “to defend the Russian armed forces’ critical infrastructure from computer attacks,” Major-General Yuri Kuznetsov said at a meeting of military officials.

Formation of the units will be conducted in stages and will be completed by 2017, Kuznetsov added without disclosing further details. In August, a Defense Ministry spokesperson confirmed there were plans to train cyberwarfare units, but dodged a question on the timeframe of their activation. 30.01.14 More

Russia, Britain to cooperate in defense projects

Russia could begin to sell weapons to Britain for the first time under a pioneering defense treaty between the former Cold War enemies, according to a report Monday. Defense chiefs in London and Moscow are preparing to sign an agreement that would see British companies working jointly on projects with Russian arms manufacturers, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The treaty would allow British arms companies to buy weapons from Russia, raising the possibility that British troops could someday be equipped with Kalashnikov rifles.

The paper reported British Defense Ministry sources as stating that the main focus of the agreement, however, was to permit information-sharing between companies and to allow firms to buy components from each other. 29.01.14 More

Russia plans cruise missile tests, bomber patrols for 2014

The Russian Air Force is preparing to conduct a series of tests of new cruise missiles, as well as carrying out strategic bomber patrols including stops in other countries, the commander of its long-range fleet said Wednesday.

“In 2014 we are planning practice launches of cruise missiles, including new models,” Gen. Lt. Anatoly Zhikharev told reporters, without specifying the missiles to be fired. Russian planes launched 15 cruise missiles last year. 23.01.14 More

US offers Russia security support for Sochi olympics

American military assets have been offered to bolster security for the upcoming Sochi Olympic Games scheduled to open in less than three weeks, the Pentagon said Monday.

“Air and naval assets, to include two Navy ships in the Black Sea, will be available if requested,” press secretary Rear Admiral John F. Kirby said in a statement.

US commanders in the region are preparing for that eventuality, he added.

The announcement came as US lawmakers voiced concern over the safety of Americans attending the Games following twin bombing attacks that killed 34 people in the Russian city of Volgograd late last month. 21.01.14 More

Russia to adopt tight anti-terrorism internet rules

Russia is set to severely limit online payment systems and oblige websites including the likes of Google and Facebook to store information on users and share it with security services, RIA Novosti reported. The measures are part of a raft of new anti-terrorism bills set to be filed in the State Duma on Wednesday by deputies representing all the main parties in the lower house of parliament.

Any website that allows users to post comments will be required to inform the authorities about it and store logs for six months, according to lawmakers behind the proposal. The logs, which will also have to be kept by Internet service providers, will have to be accessible to security services, Andrei Lugovoi of the nationalist LDPR party said. The rules will also apply to websites that are based abroad but operate in Russia, Gazeta.ru news website reported. 15.01.14 More

Putin says no Iskanders deployed in Kaliningrad

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia has not deployed Iskander tactical nuclear missiles in Kaliningrad, an exclave wedged between NATO members Lithuania and Poland.

“We have made no such decision,” Putin said at a marathon annual press conference.

It was claimed in media reports over the weekend that Iskander nuclear-capable missiles had been identified by satellite photos in Kaliningrad. 19.12.13 More

Russia has stationed Iskander missiles in western region

Russia has deployed Iskander missiles with a range of hundreds of kilometers in its Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad, which borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania, the pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia reported on Monday.

The missiles have been in place "for some time," according to Izvestia's source, a high-level Defence Ministry official it did not name. Another unnamed military source said they were deployed about 18 months ago.

The Izvestia report followed a story in German newspaper Bild on Saturday that said secret satellite imagery showed Iskander-M missiles stationed near the Polish border. 17.12.13 More

Russian defense firms risk becoming oversized and unneeded

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that although the country’s defense sector was undergoing “unprecedented” expansion, such manufacturers risk becoming “oversized and unneeded” if state funding dries up.

Putin said in his annual state-of-the-nation address that the $700 billion set aside to modernize Russia’s weaponry would keep such manufacturers at full capacity until the program concludes in 2020. 13.12.13 More

Russia to focus on robotic weaponry in arms procurement

The Russian army should focus on the acquisition of robotic weaponry and reduce its overall number of different types of military equipment in use, a deputy prime minister said Wednesday.

Addressing lawmakers from Russia’s lower house of parliament, Dmitry Rogozin listed robotic weaponry and automated combat management systems with highly secure and fast communication links as key items to be included in the new state arms procurement program for 2016 to 2025. 12.12.13 More

New Russian air-to-air missiles will field almost perfect accuracy

Russia’s new T-50-variant Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (PAK FA) may feature the most accurate air-to-air missile system ever devised. The new system specifically targets the ability of skilled fighter pilots to engage in violent maneuvers to break missile locks in older-generation technology, based on a radar system held within the nose of the missile.

The new missile, pegged the K-77M, was described by Russia Today as an “absolute killer.” It notes that what sets the K-77M’s technology apart from its counterparts is the implementation of a “active phased array antenna (APAA)” which essentially solves the lock-on problem by addressing the radar’s “field of view” problem. Previously, this limitation allowed pilots to swing their jets out of the range of a tailing guided missile when in close proximity, evading the scope of the radar’s view. The K-77M essentially implements a solution similar to the Raytheon’s Patriot surface-to-air (SAM) missile system, according to Russia Today. 09.12.13 More

Russia expects ‘big problems’ for budget after 2016

Russia’s Finance Ministry predicted serious difficulties Friday for the budget in 2016 and 2017 as slowing economic growth means there will be insufficient funds available to honor spending commitments. Short term and long term growth forecasts for the Russian economy have been cut repeatedly this year, with officials warning Russia is entering a period of economic stagnation.

“Now is the time when we need to take decisions about the curtailment of previous commitments so that we can reach a balanced budget in the medium and long term,” he told reporters. 06.12.13 More

Russia, Greece sign defense cooperation deal

Russia and Greece signed an intergovernmental agreement Tuesday on military cooperation, Russia's defense minister said.

"We signed an agreement that opens new frameworks and new boundaries for our further work in the sphere of military-technical cooperation," Sergei Shoigu told journalists after talks with his Greek counterpart Dimitrios Avramopoulos in Athens.

The deal concerns armaments supplied previously as well as military hardware, maintenance and new hardware supplies, Shoigu said. 04.12.13 More

Moscow air defenses get new short-range Pantsir-S systems

Russian air defense forces have taken delivery of six Pantsir-S short-range air defense systems to be used by a new missile regiment formed to protect the skies over Moscow, military officials said Wednesday.

The Pantsir-S battalion is set to form part of a third S-400 air defense missile regiment deployed near the Russian capital. The new regiment is expected to be put on combat duty in December, Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Dmitry Zenin said. 27.11.13 More

Russian military gets 67 combat aircraft this year

The Russian military is getting a total of 67 new combat aircraft this year, an official from the United Aircraft Corporation said Wednesday.

“Sixty-seven new aircraft were slated to be delivered in 2013, and they will all be delivered,” Vladimir Mikhailov, director of military aviation programs at the UAC, said at a roundtable conference on state defense contracts hosted by RIA Novosti.

“The remaining 16 planes will be supplied in December,” Mikhailov said. 21.11.13 More

Investigators find flight recorders from Kazan plane crash

Russian officials said Monday that they located flight recorders from a Boeing 737 that crashed in the city of Kazan over the weekend, killing all 50 people on board.

The Interstate Aviation Committee said in a statement that the container carrying the recorders was seriously damaged. The precise cause of the accident is not yet known, but terrorism has been ruled out. Transportation Minister Maxim Sokolov said the aircraft appears to have exploded, but that it was unclear if that happened while the plan was still in flight. 18.11.13 More

German observers to inspect Russian base in Tajikistan

A group of German officers will inspect facilities and daily operations at the Russian military base in Tajikistan on November 18-21 in line with international agreements, a spokesman for the Russian Central Military District said Thursday.

The inspection will be carried out in accordance with the Vienna Document 2011 agreement between 56 participating states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe aimed at implementing confidence- and security-building measures. 15.11.13 More

Two killed at Russian rocket launch site

Russian defense officials said Tuesday that two people were killed at the Plesetsk space launch facility last week while carrying out routine work cleaning out a propellant tank.

Another three servicemen were hospitalized after being exposed to poisonous nitrogen vapors on November 9 as they were working in the cosmodrome in the northwestern Arkhangelsk province, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

“The servicemen are in no danger of losing their lives,” the ministry said. 13.11.13 More

Nuclear cruiser leads Russian Task Force in Mediterranean

The Russian Northern Fleet's nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky was assigned on Monday to lead the country’s permanent naval task force in the Mediterranean.

“The Pyotr Veliky nuclear-powered missile cruiser has joined warships in Russia’s task force in the eastern Mediterranean and is now leading the group,” the Northern Fleet’s spokesman, Capt. 1st Rank Vadim Serga, told reporters.

According to the official, the headquarters of the operational command of the task force, which includes warships from all four Russian fleets, was transferred to the Pyotr Veliky from the Black Sea Fleet’s Moskva missile cruiser on Sunday. 12.11.13 More

Russian military satellite to go into orbit next week

A Russian military satellite will blast off atop a Proton-M carrier rocket next week, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said Thursday.

“The launch of a Proton-M rocket with a satellite for the Defense Ministry is scheduled for November 12,” a Roscosmos spokesman said. 08.11.13 More

Russian President signs law requiring terrorists’ relatives to pay for damages

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law a bill that forces relatives of terrorists to pay for damages caused by their attacks. It also boosts penalties for launching, participating, or financing militant or terrorist groups.

Under the law, all damages – including moral damage – should be compensated “at the expense of the means of the person committing the terrorist act and also at the expense of the means of his [or her] family, relatives and close people.”

The term “close people” refers to those whose lives, health, and well-being are valued by the terrorist, due to the terrorist’s personal relationships with the individuals. The law also stipulates that there should be “sufficient reasons” to believe that they received money, valuables, and other property as a result of terrorist activities, or that they generate income from such property. 05.11.13 More

Russian Navy’s newest missile subs not operational

The Russian Navy’s newest ballistic missile submarines are not ready to begin operations in their primary role of carrying out nuclear deterrent patrols due to a failed test firing of the Bulava missile last year, a high command source told RIA Novosti on Friday.

The two Borey-class boats in question, the Alexander Nevsky and Vladimir Monomakh, may instead be restricted to experimental testing in the attack role and armed with conventional weapons, the high command source said.

“The Borey-class strategic missile submarines can carry out the tasks of multi-role attack submarines by carrying other weapons on board – torpedoes and rocket-torpedoes. Just like a doctor of science can also teach math in a high school,” the source said. 01.11.13 More

Russian military helicopter crashes in Moscow, two injured

A military helicopter crashed Tuesday afternoon in a district on the edge of Moscow, injuring two people, RIA Novosti reported.

A law enforcement official said the ejection seats on the twin-seat Kamov KA-52 Alligator attack helicopter activated inadvertently, sending it crashing to the ground near the Vykhino-Zhulebino district in southeast Moscow. 29.10.13 More

Russia-led Security Bloc CSTO and UN Sign Cooperation Memorandum

30.9.2012

Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the UN
Department of Peacekeeping Operations signed on Friday a memorandum on
cooperation in prevention and resolution of conflicts.

The memorandum was signed within the frames of the 67th UN General
Assembly in New York by CSTO chief Nikolai Bordyuzha and Herve Ladsous,
the head of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

Russia, US, Canada to have military exercises to fight air terrorism

Russia, the U.S. and Canada for the third time will have exercises in fighting combat air terrorism, press service of Russia’s defence ministry said on Tuesday.

"In accordance with the plan of military cooperation between the armed forces of Russia and the Armed Forces of the United States of America for 2012, between August 27 and 29, Russia’s Air Force and the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) will hold international exercises Vigilant Eagle 2012" to train joint actions in capture of an aircraft by terrorists,” the press service said. 24.08.12 More

Russian Sukhoi T-50 stealth fighter completes tanker plug trial

Russian fighter maker Sukhoi's T-50 fifth-generation stealth fighter has completed initial approach trials to a flight refuelling aircraft, the company said on Tuesday.

The aircraft, T-50-2, made approaches to an Il-78 tanker in company with a Su-25UB trainer/strike aircraft. The second prototype, T-50-2 is currently conducting a range of flight trials to test the new plane's flight envelope in subsonic and supersonic regimes and in different configurations. 21.08.12 More

US issues warning to Russia over military drills near Ukrainian border

The US has warned Russia that military exercises planned near the border of Ukraine could “lead to miscalculation”, hours after pro-Moscow gunmen seized government offices in the region of Crimea and raised a Russian flag.

The secretary of state, John Kerry, said he had been reassured by his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that Moscow was not behind the storming of Crimean government buildings and would “respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine”.

In a brief appearance before reporters in Washington, Kerry said he had discussed the situation in Ukraine over the phone with Lavrov. “We believe that everybody now needs to step back and avoid any kind of provocations,” Kerry said. 28.02.14 More

Russia's Putin faces tough choices over Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin faces a decision over Ukraine that is likely to shape his political legacy as well as the future of Russia's western neighbor, trapped in an East-West battle that has echoes of the Cold War.

President Viktor Yanukovich's loss of power deprives Putin of an ally vital to his hopes of keeping Ukraine, the cradle of Russian civilization, in what he sees as Russia's orbit.

His hopes of building a huge trading bloc, grouping as many former Soviet republics as possible to challenge the economic might of China and the United States, could be in tatters. 24.02.14 More

Russia named world’s third-largest military spender

Russia is now the world’s third-largest military spender after the United States and China, pushing the United Kingdom into fourth place, a study by a defense consultancy shows.

Russia is due to increase its defense spending by more than 44 percent in the next three years, from $68 billion in 2013 to $98 billion in 2016, an annual defense budget review by IHS Jane’s showed.

Spending increases are the highest in Russia, whose estimated military budget for 2014 of $78 billion reportedly rose by 13.5 percent on 2013, as it modernizes its forces despite a slowdown in economic growth, while spending on health and social care was reduced. 04.02.14 More

Russia to deploy more Su-25 combat planes at Kyrgyz airbase

Russia will deploy four additional Su-25 ground attack aircraft at the Kant airbase in Kyrgyzstan in 2014, Russia’s Central Military District said Monday. “A unit of modernized Su-25SM Frogfoot fighter-bombers will be deployed this year at the Russian airbase in Kyrgyzstan,” the district said in a statement.

The deployment has been ordered by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the statement said.

According to the statement, the upgraded SU-25SM aircraft are equipped with advanced fire-control and navigation systems, the Pastel countermeasures suite. They can carry an expanded range of weaponry compared with the base Su-25 model. 03.02.14 More

Kazakhstan to take part in use of Russian military complex on its territory

"We had a detailed and thorough discussion of key issues. The main issue was an agreement on all the aspects for the further work and use of the Balkhash complex, its development and joint work aimed at air defense security," the Russian defense minister said. 31.01.14 More

Russia begins nuclear-powered missile cruiser overhaul

The refit of one of Russia’s four heavy nuclear-powered missile cruisers has begun after years of delays, the country’s largest shipbuilder said Friday. The work on the Admiral Nakhimov will revamp its firepower and set the stage for the revitalization of the Russian Navy’s capital ships, which have not been modernized in the post-Soviet era.

The vessel, formerly named the Kalinin, is one of four Kirov-class missile cruisers, the largest surface combat ships in operation with any navy. Only one of the ships, the Pyotr Veliky, is operational, but Russia plans to return the other three to service starting with the Admiral Nakhimov in 2018. 24.01.14 More

Russia’s Sukhoi aircraft maker to make new Superjet in 2016

Russia’s Sukhoi aircraft maker said Friday, Jan 17, that it is planning to start series production of a stretched version of its Superjet 100 passenger aircraft in 2016, according to RIA Novosti.

The plane, dubbed Superjet Stretch, will seat 115 passengers, while the baseline Superjet 100 has up to 110 seats. The model is seen as an interim solution in the development of the Superjet family until the 130-passenger capacity Superjet NG is developed by 2020.

“We are working on a schematic design of the plane at present,” said Andrei Kalinovsky, head of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft. 20.01.14 More

Helicopter rescues crew of Russian vessel trapped off Sakhalin

The crew of a Russian cargo vessel trapped in ice off far-eastern Sakhalin Bay since last month has been air-lifted by helicopter and sent home, a spokesman for a local rescue center said Thursday.

The Diomid cargo vessel, with 15 crew members on board, was en route from Magadan to the port of Vladivostok when it became trapped in ice off the northwestern coast of Sakhalin Island on December 30. 16.01.14 More

Russia to develop 5th-generation attack helicopter by 2017

It could take Russia about three years to complete the development of a fifth-generation attack helicopter and start testing its prototype, a defense industry official said Wednesday.

The Mi-28NM, a modernized version of the Mi-28N Night Hunter attack helicopter that is being upgraded to standards of a fifth-generation aircraft, has been in development since 2008.

“I think we will need no more than three years to develop a new modernized version of the Mi-28N helicopter,” said Andrei Shibitov, chief executive officer of the Russian Helicopters company. 20.12.13 More

Russia gives Ukraine bailout package of at least $20 billion

Russia lavished Ukraine with a bailout package worth at least $20 billion Tuesday, trumping the West in a Cold War-tinged struggle that keeps the former Soviet republic in Moscow's orbit. The pact, one of the richest ever offered by Russia to another country, came just weeks after Kiev turned its back on a trade deal with the EU that Moscow had strongly opposed. Announced after talks in the Kremlin between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovych on Tuesday, the deal gives Ukraine loans and cheaper natural-gas supplies.

It appears to be substantially larger and the terms less restrictive than the aid the West had been offering to entice Ukraine to sign the EU's trade-and-political accord. Russian officials said the first $3 billion in credits could be released within days. 18.12.13 More

Iraq expects Russian weapons delivery next month

The second consignment of Russian weapons and military equipment, to be delivered to Iraq under the deal signed in 2012, will arrive later than previously announced, a senior Iraqi lawmaker said on Sunday.

Last year, Iraq signed a $4.3 billion deal with Moscow to buy Russian weapons and military equipment, including around 40 Mi-35 and Mi-28NE attack helicopters. Iraq took collection of the first four Mi-35 helicopter gunships this fall.

Iraqi officials said in November that the second shipment is expected by the end of the year. 16.1213 More

Russian military to recruit 500,000 professional soldiers by 2022

Russia’s military will have 500,000 soldiers serving on professional contracts within a decade, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday.

Half of the armed forces will be made up of professional service personnel by 2022 under plans to shift away from conscripts and more than double the number of contract soldiers from the present 220,000. But Shoigu also acknowledged at an expanded meeting of the Defense Ministry Board that Russia’s armed forces are currently short of nearly one in five troops. 11.12.13 More

Russia sends first fighter jets to Belarus base

A Russian fighter jet unit has arrived at a Belarusian airbase where it will be stationed on alert duty as part of an integrated regional air defense network, Belarusian news agency BelaPAN reported.

Four Russian Air Force Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker fighter jets and technical personnel have been based at the Baranovichi airbase, BelaPAN said on Sunday. The Russian Defense Ministry recently announced plans to deploy a fighter jet regiment in Belarus by 2015. The majority of the planes will be stationed at a future Russian airbase in Lida, a town in northwestern Belarus, near the Polish and Lithuanian borders. 10.12.13 More

Russia's Defense Ministry to create own news agency

Russia’s defense ministry plans to create its own news agency next year, a ministry source said Thursday.

The agency will focus mainly on military news but will also address social and political issues, plus high-profile events in Russia and around the world, the source said.

Slated for launch in early 2014, the agency allegedly will be controlled by the Defense Ministry and directed at an online audience. 05.12.13 More

Russia to offer conscripts two year professional service option

Russia’s Defense Ministry has proposed offering conscripts the choice of two years professional military service instead of the existing one year of mandatory service, a media report said Thursday, in a bid to increase the number of full-time soldiers.

The ministry has drafted the bill offering conscripts a choice between a year as conscripts or two as professional soldiers, Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov said, Kommersant business daily reported on Wednesday. 22.11.13 More

Russian arms exporter to sell $13bn worth of weaponry this year

Russia’s state arms exporter will deliver more than $13 billion worth of military equipment to foreign customers in 2013, a senior defense industry official said Monday.

“It’s a new record. We have been increasing sales every year,” Russian Technologies (Rostech) CEO Sergei Chemezov said at the Dubai Air Show 2013. Chemezov said Rosoboronexport’s current portfolio of foreign orders amounted to $38 billion. 19.11.13 More

US cancels Russian helicopter buy

The United States has scrapped plans to purchase additional helicopters from state-run Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport amid pressure from federal lawmakers over Russian arms deliveries to Syria, a top US senator said Wednesday.

“I applaud the [US] Defense Department’s decision to cancel its plan to buy 15 additional Mi-17 helicopters from Rosoboronexport,” US Sen. John Cornyn said in statement, The Associated Press (AP) reported.

Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, has been leading a push in Congress to oppose the Pentagon’s purchase of Russian helicopters for deployment in Afghanistan due to Moscow’s weapons shipments to the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad as his forces battle rebel groups in a fierce civil war. 14.11.13 More

Russia to deliver 2 More 'Black Hole' subs to Vietnam in '14

Russia will deliver the two more Varshavyanka class diesel-electric submarines to Vietnam in 2014, a defense industry source said Thursday.

The Varshavyanka-class (Project 636) is an improved version of the Kilo-class submarines and features advanced stealth technology, extended combat range and the ability to strike land, surface and underwater targets.

Vietnam in 2009 ordered six of the Russian-made submarines -- dubbed “black holes in the ocean” by the US Navy because they are nearly undetectable when submerged -- in a step seen as an effort to counterbalance China’s expanding maritime influence in the region. 07.11.13 More

Russia to deploy Arctic escort squadron by 2014

The Russian military is planning to form a squadron of warships with ice-breaking capability by 2014 to protect vital shipping routes in the Arctic, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday.

“I hope we will find additional capability to transport cargo in the Arctic, including support of ships moving along the Arctic routes,” Shoigu said at a video-conferencing session at the Defense Ministry.

New equipment will also be provided for infantry forces to fight in the region, he said. 06.11.13 More

NATO kicks off military exercise near Russia

The United States and its European allies carried out military exercises near Russia’s western borders Saturday, a training operation that has raised hackles in Moscow but will be observed by a Russian Defense Ministry delegation.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) held its Steadfast Jazz 2013 exercise primarily in Poland and the former Soviet republic of Latvia, a training that will include some 6,000 troops from the Western military alliance and partner nations.

The exercise, NATO’s largest since 2006, is based on a “fictitious scenario in a fictitious country” and will include land, air, maritime and special operations forces, according to the alliance. 04.11.13 More

Russian Tu-160 Strategic Bombers Land in Venezuela

Two Russian Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers on Monday flew from an airbase in southwestern Russia and landed in Venezuela, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The nuclear-capable bombers, which took off from the Engels airbase in the Volga region, “flew over the Caribbean, the eastern Pacific and along the southwestern coast of the North American continent, and landed at Maiquetia airfield in Venezuela,” the ministry said in a statement. 30.10.13 More

Russian helicopter sets altitude record

A Russian Mi-38 helicopter set a new world altitude record on Monday on the final day of the 14th FAI World Helicopter Championships near Moscow, rotorcraft maker Russian Helicopters said.

The Mi-38, designed for cargo and passenger transport, climbed to above 8,600 meters (28,380 feet), setting a new world record for helicopters weighing 10-20 tons. The record-breaking helicopter was flown by pilots from Russian Helicopters' Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant. 27.08.12 More

Russian plant to make Mi-171 helicopters for China

Moscow and Beijing signed a contract in late July on the delivery of 55 Mi-171E helicopters to China. The cost of one unit in its basic configuration is estimated at $10-12 million. 22.08.12 More

BLACKSEAFOR ships return Novorossiysk after naval exercise

Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Romanian and Turkish naval ships are through with the active phase of their BLACKSEAFOR naval exercise and have called at the Russian naval base Novorossiysk.

The ship crews have specifically been trained in controlling merchant vessel traffic and coordinating the display of surface picture. They also “repelled an attack” amid limited use of force. The crews practised moves to help out a “man overboard” and replenished food and fuel at sea. 20.08.12 More

Russian Mi-28 helicopter gunship crashes

A Russian Army Mil Mi-28N, one of the force's newest machines, crashed on Thursday at its base in Mozdok, North Ossetia.

The two-man crew was not injured according to preliminary information.

"An Mi-28N made a heavy landing while on a training flight," a source in the Southern Military District said. "The crew was not hurt and neither was anyone on the ground. The cause is being investigated." 16.08.12 More

New cruise missiles for Russian Yasen-class submarine

The Russian Yasen-class nuclear-powered submarine Severodvinsk will be equipped with unique sophisticated cruise missiles, a source in Russia’s military-industrial complex said on Tuesday.

The source said that the Kalibr supersonic high-precision missile is capable of targeting aerial, submarine and coastal targets, and is effective up to an operational range of 375 kilometers. 14.08.12 More

Russian nuclear submarine to serve decade after refit

The Russian Navy's submarine Novomoskovsk has been refitted and returned to service with the Northern Fleet, and will serve another ten years before being decommissioned in 2022, Fleet Spokesman Captain First Rank Vadim Serga said on Monday.

The Project 667 type boat (NATO Delta 4) arrived at its base in the port of Severomorsk on Monday after the refit at the Zvezdochka shipyard at nearby Severodvinsk. "The boat's life after refit and modernization will be extended by another ten years," Serga said. 13.08.12 More

Russia to suspend proton rocket launches

Russian Space Agency Roscosmos will suspend the launches of Proton-M rocket carriers with Briz-M boosters following the incident on late Monday when the booster had failed to bring two satellites into a calculated transition orbit, a space industry source said on Tuesday. “All further Proton launches will be postponed until the emergency commission, which is likely to be established soon, determines the cause of the failure,” the source said. 07.08.12 More